In Formula 1, is a constant search for new tricks. Copying the competition is part of the business. We show that technology trends have emerged in the past season and what we will see them in the new F1 year.

To stand still is known in Formula 1 step backwards. Who the pace of development can not keep up with the competition comes back automatically. Clever tricks remain at this high level is not long undetected. Interesting ideas are instantly copied to the computer and tested in simulations. Distinguishes itself from its own advantage, is copied mercilessly.

In one season, but not everyone can be imitated trick. Some solutions simply do not fit into the concept of having a car. Would have Mercedes as happy nachgeifert competition from Red Bull and McLaren, who made &#8203;&#8203;themselves an advantage with flexible front wings. On Silberpfeil however prevented the used air channels of the dual-DRS that the wings in the wind will bend slightly.Developments with old technology ideas

Sometimes a copy of tricks is just too expensive. So the Mercedes from the start was on the integration of the trachea from the rear wing designed by the car across the front wing. Reproduction impossible. Red Bulls also complicated system tray in the rear remained until the end without imitators.
That could change, however, the 2013th In the development of completely new car engineers had enough time to implement all of the ideas competition. Air flows through the rear a la Red Bull, we will see them again or something like. The Mercedes Double DRS has no future, however. It is forbidden by the new regulations.Which exhaust version will prevail?

A big construction site in 2013 remains the exhaust. Gradually, during the past season all teams moved her tail pipe in a duct. Only Williams and HRT set to last for a conventional solution. But even with the "Coanda Group" - named after the physical principle of it was air-line differences.
2012 emerged two versions. Renewed with as Red Bull, Clean and Lotus on shaft, which was on the top of integrated inside the hood. McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes later went another way. They laid the channel that directs the exhaust gases, in a document issued bump on the outside of the body.
Which version will prevail in the coming season, we can not yet say. In our gallery we will show you the mentioned trends and tell you what we expect in 2013, yet the technology front.

Formula 1 teams are facing an increasingly tough call on whether or not to pursue passive double DRS in 2013, despite rules tweaks that should theoretically boost its advantage. The FIA has changed the DRS regulations for this year, with drivers now only allowed to activate the device in practice and qualifying at the areas of the track where it will be used in the race.
Trick "double DRS" like those used by Mercedes and Red Bull  which fed air through ducts in the rear wing to help stall the aerodynamics for a straight-line speed boost  have also been outlawed. However, passive DRS concepts as tested by Mercedes and Lotus last year, which can stall the wing for a speed boost on all straights, remain legal  and should produce a bigger advantage because of the rules tweak that restrict normal DRS usage.
The implementation of the passive double DRS remains far from a no-brainer, however, especially after both Mercedes and Lotus encountered difficulties in gaining confidence with the systems last year. The biggest problem was in getting the device to switch on and switch off at the correct speed.
The device has to trigger at a speed that is higher than the fastest corner, so drivers do not encounter a sudden loss of downforce in the high-speed turns where they need it the most. This means that the benefit from the passive systems is limited only to those sections of straights that are faster than the quickest corners, so it is not as much value at venues with a lot of quick turns. The ideal circuits for passive DRS are those that feature long straights and only low-speed corners.
There is also a further complication in that Lotus and Mercedes both found that due to air pressure characteristics surrounding an F1 car, the speed at which the passive DRS switched off to re-engage the rear wing was not always the same as that where it switched on. This meant that the trigger point had to be adjusted even higher to ensure that there was no risk of drivers not having rear downforce for corners immediately after long straights.
Speaking about the concept at the end of last year, Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn said that if the passive DRS got the go-ahead, then it would be unlikely to feature on the car at every race.
"Where it engages and where it re-engages are often not necessarily the same speed  as it can have some lag," he said, when asked about the difficulties Mercedes had encountered. "For some tracks it will not be worth it, you won't be able to get any substantial advantage out of it.
"You need tracks with a good series of low-speed corners; as soon as you get high-speed corners, you can't afford for it to be operating and the threshold becomes very high and the advantage is very small."
Nevertheless, ahead of a season where it is expected that the F1 field will closer further up because of rules stability, any advantage is still keenly pursued  which is why passive double DRS remains attractive.Brawn added: "The advantage of that is that you can use it all the time. I don't think it will make a huge difference in qualifying when you can use the normal DRS, but with passive systems they are every lap.
"At the moment you can only use DRS when you are close to a car in front, but with passive systems you can use them all the time, which is why they are attractive."
Mercedes and Lotus headed into the winter determined to keep evaluating the passive double DRS concept, and both teams are still evaluating the idea as they close in on completing their 2013 cars. It is also likely that rival teams have put work in to trying to get the systems working. However, Brawn is convinced that even if teams do get the passive DRS working properly in 2013, it will not be a golden ticket for success.
"The performance gain is there, but it is not huge," he said. "It's not like F-duct was. It is something that is nice to have, but it is not going to be a game changer in terms of your competitiveness."

DRS use
For safety reasons, in 2013 drivers are only be able to utilise the Drag Reduction System (DRS) overtaking aid within the designated DRS zones during practice and qualifying. Previously drivers had been free to deploy the system as they pleased in these sessions.

Active double-DRS systems outlawed
In 2012 Mercedes developed a clever concept whereby air was channelled through an opening in the rear-wing endplate when DRS was activated and then fed through the car to help stall the front wing. For 2013 active drag reducing systems involving the DRS, such as this, have been banned.

Stepped noses
Teams have the option of tidying up the aesthetics of their cars in 2013 with the introduction of new regulations aimed at improving the look of ugly stepped noses first seen in 2012. A small piece of laminate - nicknamed a modesty' or 'vanity' panel - may now be used to smooth the nose section.

Crash testing
To make F1 cars ever safer, tougher new tests on roll structures and the survival cell have been introduced for 2013. Furthermore, every chassis that a team produces, as opposed to just one, will now be subject to a static load test of the survival cell.

Curfews
The team personnel curfew - which prevents team members from being in the paddock during specified periods - has been extended from six to eight hours on Thursday nights for 2013. The number of exceptions allowed during a season has also been reduced from four to two.

Front wing tests
For 2013 front wing deflection tests will be more stringent to lessen the possibility of flexible bodywork being used to enhance aerodynamic performance.

Minimum weight
The minimum weight of the car and driver has been increased from 640kg to 642kg to compensate for the slightly increased weight of Pirelli's 2013 tyres. The mandatory weight distribution has also been adjusted accordingly.

Force majeure
The force majeure allowance relating to when a car stops on the track during qualifying has been deleted from the regulations. For 2013 any car that stops on the track must have enough fuel for the mandatory one-litre minimum sample plus an additional amount proportional to the amount of fuel that would have been used in returning to the pits (determined by the FIA).

Qualifying
Not an actual regulation change, but as the official 2013 entry list comprises 22 cars - two fewer than in 2012 - six cars rather than seven will now be eliminated at the end of both Q1 and Q2.

Championship entry fees
Championship entry fees have been revised. Red Bull, as constructors champions, were required to pay US$500,000 plus US$6000 for each point gained in the 2012 World Constructors Championship to enter the 2013 championship. Every other team was required to pay a basic fee of US$500,000 plus US$5000 for each point scored in 2012.

I have a feeling the FIA will be chasing shadows when it comes to moveable body parts. I think the technology will stay ahead of their testing at least for this season, perhaps longer. I keep wondering whether the concept of flexible panels will be extended to more body parts, perhaps even the entire chassis in some manner?

Helmut Marko reinforces his position as a relentless ashhole.

After Alonso delivers what is generally regarded as a peerless season, Marko criticizes him for allegedly being distracted. Worse, much worse, Marko take a gratuitous shot at Mark Webber, labeling him a choker. Way to work for the entire team, Helmut! And of course there's his obligatory wank over Vettel, who must have a spooge rag ready when Marko's around. I wonder if he flinches when it lands on him?

Ferraris new car will look similar to the 2012 model, team boss Stefano Domenicali has admitted.
Indeed, that will be the trend up and down the grid this season, as teams handle the complicated transition to the radical new V6 engine rules for 2014.
"From an aesthetic point of view," Domenicali said when asked about the 2013 Ferrari, "it wont be very different from the 2012 car."
But La Gazzetta dello Sport quoted him as saying there are "interesting developments" in the exhaust area, while Ferrari is now pushing "the boundary of the regulations" harder than before.
2013, Domenicali admitted, will be arguably tougher than ever before.
"Since the budgets and manpower are limited by the rules," he is quoted by Tuttosport, "this is a very delicate task."
He is referring to the need to focus almost simultaneously this year on winning the 2013 world championship with a 2012-like set of rules, and preparing for the all-new turbo era.
"Im also assuming that some teams in the summer of 2013 will abandon the development of their (2013) project or severely restrict it, if the title is out of reach.
"Since I assume that we will be fighting for the title, this is not a possibility for us," said Domenicali.

I still think that Hamilton's move was with the 2014 rule changes in mind, have a year under the old relatively stable rules and get to know the team, a strategic move if you like.

Trouble is, it looks like Brawn is on the way out and that's likely to destroy any chances of stability this year.

BBC F1 chief analyst Eddie Jordan, who has broken two major Mercedes stories in the last three years - with their signings of Schumacher in 2010 and Lewis Hamilton for 2013 - has independently also discovered the team's plans.
"Paddy Lowe is going to Mercedes and it would appear that Brawn and Fry are on their way out, and Lowe will be there in a very senior capacity," Jordan said.

"Lowe won't be technical director; he'll be more senior than that. But he won't be called team principal either," Jordan said, "because that will be Wolff. But Lowe will effectively be running the team on a day-to-day basis."

Given that this year's car and team will have been conceived and built around Brawn's direction, changing at this stage can only disrupt things in a year when much of the focus will be upon the big changes to come next season.

There seems to be something of a lemming mentality in the M-B boardroom.